Hose-storing apparatus.



A. MEAS & FI C. MOLLI HOSE STORING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEc. I4. 1914.

Patented Oct. 2,1917.

STATES PATENT FFIOE.

AUGUSTUS MEAS AND FREDERICK C. MOLL, NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGN- ORS TO NIAGARA AUTOMATIC HOSE REEL COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

HOSE-STORING- APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

Application led December 14, 1914. Serial No. 877,045.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, AUGUSTUS M EAS and FREDERICK C. Mom., citizens of the United States, residing at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented new' and useful Improvements in Hose-Storing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This linvention relates to an apparatus which is more particularly designed for storing the garden hose used in connection with dwellings or residences although the same may also be used for storing hose employed for other purposes. l

Heretofore it has been customary to wind the garden hose, when not in use, upon a portable reel which often is left outdoors and in some instances the hose is simply coiled upon the ground in a convenient location and left there all. summer so as to be readily available for use when required. Both of these methods of taking care of a garden hose are objectionable because of the inconvenience of winding the hose on or off the reel, also because of the liability of the hose being stolen as frequently occurs, also because the presence of the hose reel or the hose lying in a more or less disordered condition upon the lawn is unsightly and oletracts from the neat appearance of the premises, and also because the hose is not readily available in case it is desired to use the same for playing a stream of water forl extinguishing a fire in the building.

One of the purposes of this invention is to provide an a paratus for storing a garden or like hose w ich is preferably built into the cellar wall or other convenient place in the building ,so as to become a permanent part thereof and not only providel a fixed and de'nite place for taking care of the hose when the same is not in use but also keeping the same within the building to improve the appearance of the premises. A further ob'- ject of this invention is toso mount the hose that the same can be locked up securely against theft, also to so organize the hose mounting that when the hose is colled the same may remain permanently connected with the main water supply or service pipe of the building, so that the hose ca n e` quickly usedin case of a fire for playing a stream of water on the same, and to provide means whereby the reel proper is turned vforward automatically during the operation ,of

' winding the hose thereon but is under the control of the attendant. These advantages are obtained without encroaching to any material extent upon the wall or space of the basement of the buildingand without involving undue expense which otherwise might render the installation of this device prohibitive.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a vertical transverse section of one form of our hose storing apparatus installed in the basement or cellar and the wall of a building, the section being taken in line 1--1, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken in line 2-2,'Fig. l.'

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

l represents one of the walls of the basement or cellar of a building, 2 a frame arranged in an opening 3 of this wall immediately above the level of the ground on the outside of the building, et the iioor or ceiling of the basement arranged innnediately above said opening 3, 5 a door, window or similar closure for this opening which is preferably pivoted at one vertical edge to this frame so thatit can swing horizontally into an open or closed position while its free edge is detachably connected with the corresponding side of the frame by means of a catch, lock or similar fastening 6.

Our improved hose storing apparatus is` adapted to be mounted partly within the opening 3 and the frame mounted therein and partly within the adjacent cellar or basement space so that the hose is readily available through the cellar opening upon releasing the door or window 5 and swinging the same vinto an open position. Although the details of construction of our improved hose storing apparatus may be varied the organization lof the same which is shown in the drawings has been found suitable -and as there shown the same is constructed as follows:

T'represents a horizontal shaft which is arranged lengthwise within the inner part of the cellar opening 3 and journaled at its =..opposite ends in bearings 8 formedv at the inner ends Vof brackets 9 which are secured to the opposing inner faces of the vertical members or stiles of the frame 2. .Upon one end of this shaft is mounted a reel upon which the free Vpart of the garden hose 11 or the like -is adapted to be wound together with its nozzle 12 by turning this l reel forwardly with the shaft. The receiv- A which is adapted to move vertically 1n the cellar space between the ceiling and the ioor thereof an'd the movement of which is transmitted to the hose reel by means of a cable, cord or line 17 4or the like which passes with its intermediate part around a pulley 18 preferably supported upon theA basement ceiling or adjacent part of the building atv a point above the reel and its shaft and adjacent to the cellar opening 3. Theinner stretch of this operating line is attached. at-

its lower end to the weight 16 while -its outer stretch is connected with a drum 19 formed by part of the shaft adjacent .to the reelfand adapted to be wound around this shaft in the manner of a drum when the same is turned backwardly for unwinding the hose therefrom or forwardly while wind.

ing the hose thereon.

20 represents a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft 7 and -21 a detent pawl or dog pivoted on the adjacent bracket 9 and provided with a weighted tail or `arm 22 which is arranged on that side of the pivot of the dog opposite the nose thereof so that the `weight of this tail operates normally to hold the dog yieldingly in engagement with the ratchet wheel.

When the hose is wound upon the reel the weight is in its lowermost position and the closure of the cellar opening is shut, as shown in Fig. 1. When it is desired to use the hose for watering the garden or the lawn or for other purposes, such as extinguishing a fire or washing an automobile the closure 5 is first unlocked or unfastened and then swung into an open position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, thereby rendering the hose on the reel accessible from the outside of the building. The person intending to use the hose now pulls upon that part of the hose 'extending from the reel to the service pipe, whereby the hose is unwound from the reel and the latter is turned backwardly until the nozzle ofthe hose is reached after which the latter is also removed from the reel. rlihe hose is now taken wherever it is wanted and the water turned on by opening theV valve 15. While the reel is turned backwardly for unwinding the hose therefrom the outer stretch of the operating line is wound upon the drum eifect of the weight 16 which at this time has been raised into the elevated position indicated'in Fig. 1 by reason of the operating line having been wound upon the drum 19 of the shaft. Illhe parts of the hose storing apparatus now remain in this position until it is again desired. to stow away the hose. This is accomplished by irst securing the free end of the hose having the nozzle to the reel in any suitable manner, for instance, by placing the" nozzle between two longitudinal slats of the reel, as shown in Fig. 1, and then releasing the dog from the ratchet reel so as to permit the weight 16 to turn the shaft and reel forwardly and wind the free part of the hose on the reel. During this winding-up operation the weight moves from the upper part to the lower part of the cellar space and while the hose is being wound upon the reel'the attendant guides-the same by hand sol that the several coils or convolutions of the hose willI be wound properly on the reel and will be prevented from becoming disordered. Previous to winding the hose upon thefreel the water is turned off and after the windl ing o eration is completed the dog is permitte to rengage the ratchet wheel preparatory to again using the hose. The closure 5 is now again closed and locked or fastened so that access to the hose cannot be had except by authorizedl persons, thereby preventing stealing of the hose as fre- 5 quently occurs when the same is left unguarded or otherwise unprotected. The cellar opening and the frame inclosure mounted therein practically form a cabinet or inclosing casing for the hose storinga paratus, and as these partsl are alrea y present in most buildings of modern construction it is possible to install our improved hose storing apparatus without reuiring any alteration in the building itself. w1ng to the fact that the hose by this `means 1s always concealed from view when not in use that part of the premises where the hose had heretofore usually been kept is rendered more tidy and as the hose is conveniently available at all times the fire hazard of the building is materially reduced by reason of the readiness of the hose for fire extinguishing purposes.

By utilizing a weight for winding the hose on the reel an automatic operatlon is insured of the winding of the hose on the reel the instant the dog is released from the ratchet Wheel because the Weight never gets out of order and is always ready to act, and by running the operating line over an intermediate pulley which is arranged above the shaft, drum and reel it permits of not only utilizing the full height of the Cellar or basement in which the Weight can move for operating the reel but it also causes an upward pull on the shaft which carries the reel andhose, thereby relieving the bearings in the brackets from the Weight of these parts and reducing the Wear on the same to a minimum.

Our improved hose storing apparatus is comparativly simple in construction, it contains no delicate parts which are liable to get out of order and the same, as a Whole, is very compact so that it does lnot encroach to any material extent upon the available space in the basement.

We claim -as our invention:

A hose storing apparatus comprising a frame which is .adapted to be supported Within an opening in an upright wall of the basement of a building and an automatically rotated drum mounted on said frame and adapted to have a hose Wound thereon,

so that the latter is accessible both from the interior and the exterior of the building.

Witness our hands this eleventh day of December, 1914.

AUGUSTUS MEAs. FREDERICK c. MOLL. 

